The DUT HIV/AIDS Centre in conjunction with the Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) are hosting the “Our Positive Bodies” Exhibition at the Arts Gallery foyer on the Steve Biko Campus from 7 to 21 April 2014. DUT was chosen as one of the four Universities in South Africa to host this prestigious exhibition.
The organisation HEAIDS supports institutions such as DUT, in responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic through their core functions of teaching and learning; research and innovation; and community engagement.
The exhibition will be made up of life-sized self-portraits (body maps) of HIV-positive people that will tell stories of treatment, stigma and exclusion, as well as support and vitality. Body maps are life-sized self-portraits in which the outline of each subject’s body provides the structure for the final painting. The concept of using body maps allows the artist to express their own personal journey. The paintings will give an insight about the treatment undertaken, the stigma and the support system.
The artworks on display have been produced from 2006 onward, in collaboration with the health programme of Kenyan-German development cooperation and the art therapy project, Art2Be. HIV-positive individuals from Kenya, India and Thailand painted their body maps at a series of workshops. In 2008, with support from the organisation Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, a workshop was also held in Berlin, in Germany. Further workshops continue to be held around the world, enlarging the exhibition with additional body maps. Similar events also took place as part of the International AIDS Conferences, in Vienna in 2010 and Washington in 2012.
By means of this artistic-therapeutic confrontation, bare facts are enriched with personal stories and living environments and provides with new insights and understanding for people who are living with this disease. The fear of discrimination and stigmatisation prevents a majority of people to seek help.
Students and staff members are encouraged to visit the exhibition and understand more about a person living with HIV/AIDS through art.
Philiswa Xulu
